Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stake Boosted by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 474,255 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,628 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $37,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $721,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 90,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,141,000 after acquiring an additional 15,452 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 35,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,540 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 4,513,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,077,000 after purchasing an additional 264,668 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $100.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.84. The firm has a market cap of $249.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.